Abroad in Wales

Bath

Yesterday, Melissa and I went to Bath, England, to take in the sights.

First stop was the Abbey.  Very imposing in all its Gothic glory.

 And a statue in front of the Abbey, celebrating the legendary healing qualities of the water in the local hot springs.

A typical street in the shopping district.

 The old Roman Bath House, right behind the Abbey.  The Romans built several bath houses when they came to Briton, taking advantage of the natural hot springs in the Bath area.  They called their settlement Aquae Sulis.  The tradition of the bath house was taken back up during the Georgian era, as the well-to-do came to Bath to relax and soak in the medicinal baths.

 Inside the Old Roman Bath House.

 Old pieces of the temple.

 Underground stream.

 Stream that feeds the main bath.

 Waterfall into the main, above ground bath.

 We also stumbled upon an old books shop.  They had an entire room filled with leather bound, first editions, none of which cost less than £300 ($600)!  I had to move on because I was depressed that I would never be able to afford any of them.  But I did find some more cost-friendly books.  Including, this leather-bound, 1884 London edition of the complete works of Shakespeare!

We also found the Jane Austen Museum.  

 And, to leave you with a bit of silliness, we also found this restaurant - The Walrus and the Carpenter.  Creepy.

Posted at 08:01AM Feb 20, 2008 by Jill S Brink in General  |  Comments[2]